Here are 100 books that Womanist Midrash fans have personally recommended if you like
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Joy Schroeder is a historian devoted to examining the experiences of women in Christianity and Judaism. With concern for female and male victims of violence, Schroeder scrutinizes historical documents to find accounts of harassment, rape, clergy sexual abuse, and other violence. She brings the historical accounts to light while critiquing the cultural patterns that perpetuate violence in our own day. In her work as a pastor and as a professor, she has worked to support victims of harassment, sexual violence, domestic violence, and child abuse. Schroeder is a professor of church history at Capital University (Columbus, Ohio), where she teaches at Trinity Lutheran Seminary and the department of religion and philosophy.
Published in 1984, this book is an enduring classic. Filled with sympathy for victims and survivors, it is a groundbreaking, poignant feminist reading of biblical “texts of terror” about violence against women who were raped, enslaved, ritually sacrificed, or forced to become surrogate mothers. This book transformed the way people now read stories of biblical violence. It calls on readers to acknowledge and remember the suffering of victims—in biblical times and in our own.
Professor Trible focuses on four variations upon the theme of terror in the Bible. By combining the discipline of literary criticism with the hermeneutics of feminism, she reinterprets the tragic stories of four women in ancient Israel: Hagar, Tamar, an unnamed concubine, and the daughter of Jephthah. In highlighting the silence, absence, and opposition of God, as well as human cruelty, Trible shows how these neglected stories interpreted in memoriam challenge both the misogyny of Scripture and its use in church, synagogue, and academy.
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
Joy Schroeder is a historian devoted to examining the experiences of women in Christianity and Judaism. With concern for female and male victims of violence, Schroeder scrutinizes historical documents to find accounts of harassment, rape, clergy sexual abuse, and other violence. She brings the historical accounts to light while critiquing the cultural patterns that perpetuate violence in our own day. In her work as a pastor and as a professor, she has worked to support victims of harassment, sexual violence, domestic violence, and child abuse. Schroeder is a professor of church history at Capital University (Columbus, Ohio), where she teaches at Trinity Lutheran Seminary and the department of religion and philosophy.
Susanne Scholz says readers should consider biblical accounts of sexual violence to be “sacred witness” to the horrific reality of rape in the biblical world and in our own world. She proposes that we wrestle with the Bible’s words, including passages that depict God as a violent aggressor, and that we should read scriptural accounts in solidarity with victims, past and present.
In Sacred Witness, Susanne Scholz discusses the wide range of rape texts in biblical literaturesome that long have troubled readers, others that should have but didn't, such as texts of marital rape, for example, or metaphorical speech about God as rapist. Assuming the androcentric nature of these writings, Scholz asks how we may read these texts in order to find some redemptive meaning for women, children, and men who have been injured by sexual violence and by cultures of rape. Sacred Witness provides illuminating reflection on some of the most troubling texts in the Hebrew Bible.
Joy Schroeder is a historian devoted to examining the experiences of women in Christianity and Judaism. With concern for female and male victims of violence, Schroeder scrutinizes historical documents to find accounts of harassment, rape, clergy sexual abuse, and other violence. She brings the historical accounts to light while critiquing the cultural patterns that perpetuate violence in our own day. In her work as a pastor and as a professor, she has worked to support victims of harassment, sexual violence, domestic violence, and child abuse. Schroeder is a professor of church history at Capital University (Columbus, Ohio), where she teaches at Trinity Lutheran Seminary and the department of religion and philosophy.
The twelve sons of the biblical patriarch Jacob had a sister named Dinah who was abducted and raped by the son of a prince (Genesis 34). Dinah speaks no words in the biblical text. Caroline Blyth gives voice to Dinah by examining the words of modern women from around the globe, comparing Dinah’s experience with that of her modern-day sisters. With a poignant, sensitive reading of the Bible and the testimonies of women living today, Blyth exposes and rejects dangerous myths and stereotypes about sexual violence.
This innovative study explores the interconnectedness of ancient and current attitudes towards sexual violence, focusing upon the representation of rape in the biblical narrative of Genesis 34.
Caroline Blyth takes the reader on a journey through both biblical and contemporary cultures, contemplating the commonality and diversity of rape survivors' experiences across space and time. In particular, Blyth evaluates the insidious and pervasive influences of the cultural myths and misperceptions surrounding sexual violence, which have long served to deny rape survivors a voice with which to relate their narrative of suffering. Blyth examines whether such 'rape myths' are likewise given voice…
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
Joy Schroeder is a historian devoted to examining the experiences of women in Christianity and Judaism. With concern for female and male victims of violence, Schroeder scrutinizes historical documents to find accounts of harassment, rape, clergy sexual abuse, and other violence. She brings the historical accounts to light while critiquing the cultural patterns that perpetuate violence in our own day. In her work as a pastor and as a professor, she has worked to support victims of harassment, sexual violence, domestic violence, and child abuse. Schroeder is a professor of church history at Capital University (Columbus, Ohio), where she teaches at Trinity Lutheran Seminary and the department of religion and philosophy.
The #MeToo movement has helped twenty-first-century society begin to reckon with sexual violence, including the harmful myths that blame victims and shield perpetrators from consequences. Stiebert reads ancient biblical stories about rape in conversation with modern accounts. Similarities include the way society fails to acknowledge the reality of violence or to believe victims, especially victims of powerful men.
Biblical studies is increasingly interdisciplinary and frequently focuses on how the Bible is read, received, and represented in the contemporary world, including in politics, news media, and popular culture. Rape Myths, the Bible and #MeToo illustrates this with particular and critical assessment of #MeToo and its rapid and global impact. Rape myths - in particular the myth that rape victims are complicit in the violence they encounter, which consequently renders sexual violence 'not so bad' - are examined both with regard to current backlash to #MeToo and to biblical texts that undermine the violence perpetrated by rape. This includes aggressive…
I became a Christian when I was 16 and have studied the Bible throughout my lifetime. I have been a professional writer and author for more than 40 years. I have also studied literature at numerous universities and taught English, journalism, and writing. Combine all of these, and it is understandable why librarians at a library convention once surrounded me and said, “We trust your research!” You can see why I am adamant, even in fiction and poetry, about the piece being well-written, well-researched, and three-dimensional believable characters who tap into our emotions. I set high standards for myself, and high standards for books I read and recommend.
As a journalist, author Shannon Bream did not disappoint by applying her skills to deep research of the 16 women she wrote about in this nonfiction book.
I have studied the Bible nearly my entire life and hadn’t realized Hagar was the first person to see an angel and the first to give God a name – El Ro-i, “the God of seeing.” Bream sets this book up in an unusual manner by pairing two women per chapter. Very unique!
After my poetry book about Bible women released, people kept asking if I had read The Women of the Bible Speak. (Our titles are even similar.) I had not read her book. (It is common to not read what you are writing about so as not to be influenced.)
Once I read Bream’s book, it was evident why people saw mine as a companion. I am a fan now,…
The women of the Bible lived timeless stories-by examining them, we can understand what it means to be a woman of faith.
People unfamiliar with Scripture often assume that women play a small, secondary role in the Bible. But in fact, they were central figures in numerous Biblical tales. It was Queen Esther's bravery at a vital point in history which saved her entire people. The Bible contains warriors like Jael, judges like Deborah, and prophets like Miriam. The first person to witness Jesus' resurrection was Mary Magdalene, who promptly became the first Christian evangelist,…
I worked in publishing while earning my master’s degree in English, thinking I would eventually teach. Stories, however, were my first love, as was theology. I grew up in the church, but it wasn’t until I discovered how to study the Bible through a cultural lens that Scripture came springing to life in a new way. I was hooked, and I began to see an intersection between my passions—storytelling, teaching, and theology. Now, I pen stories that highlight the humanity of Bible characters and the goodness of the God they serve. My hope is that the Bible will spring to life for others the way it did for me.
After reading this book by Stephanie Landsem, I feel as though I’ve lived in the Samaritan village of Sychar, drawn water from the well, sat beneath the wagging tongues of villagers, and experienced the transformative love of Jesus the Messiah.
This immersive story gives a beautiful background to the Samaritan woman in John 4, told from the perspective of her daughter, Mara. The hurt and desperation in Mara were gut-wrenching and pulled me right into the story.
I appreciated how the author focused on all the people surrounding the main character from the Bible, showing how one person’s choices—and transformation—impact so many others. A beautiful book full of heartbreak and hope.
In the rich tradition of Francine Rivers's Lineage of Grace series, comes a beautiful retelling of the biblical story of the woman at the well-bringing to life this poignant young woman struggling to survive love and heartbreak.
Could he be the One we've been waiting for?
For the women of the Samaritan village of Sychar, the well is a place of blessing-the place where they gather to draw their water and share their lives-but not for Mara. Shunned for the many sins of her mother, Nava, Mara struggles against the constant threats of starvation or exile.
The Duke's Christmas Redemption
by
Arietta Richmond,
A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.
Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…
I became a Christian when I was 16 and have studied the Bible throughout my lifetime. I have been a professional writer and author for more than 40 years. I have also studied literature at numerous universities and taught English, journalism, and writing. Combine all of these, and it is understandable why librarians at a library convention once surrounded me and said, “We trust your research!” You can see why I am adamant, even in fiction and poetry, about the piece being well-written, well-researched, and three-dimensional believable characters who tap into our emotions. I set high standards for myself, and high standards for books I read and recommend.
Francine Rivers has always been a master at writing biblical fiction.
As a teen my daughter read many of Rivers’s novels. But I never took the time to do so until another best-selling author recommended to me A Lineage of Grace. It is a collection of short stories, nearly the length of novellas, following five women in the lineage of Jesus Christ.
The story that captured me most was Tamar’s. I had never thought about her viewpoint as a Canaanite, or why she went to the extreme measure she did, pretending to be a prostitute, to hold her father-in-law Judah to his promise and bare his children.
I love books that make me see something on a slant, from a different viewpoint. There are also Bible study questions at the end of each woman’s story.
The complete biblical historical fiction compilation by the New York Times bestselling author of Redeeming Love and A Voice in the Wind.
The Bible is filled with inspiring stories of unlikely candidates God chose to change eternity. This bestselling compilation in one volume contains five novellas about such people―women in the family tree of Jesus Christ.
Tamar. Rahab. Ruth. Bathsheba. Mary.
Each was faced with extraordinary―even scandalous―challenges. But they had courage. They lived daring lives. Sometimes they made mistakes―big mistakes. And yet God, in His infinite mercy and grace, used them to bring forth the Christ, the Savior of the…
I worked in publishing while earning my master’s degree in English, thinking I would eventually teach. Stories, however, were my first love, as was theology. I grew up in the church, but it wasn’t until I discovered how to study the Bible through a cultural lens that Scripture came springing to life in a new way. I was hooked, and I began to see an intersection between my passions—storytelling, teaching, and theology. Now, I pen stories that highlight the humanity of Bible characters and the goodness of the God they serve. My hope is that the Bible will spring to life for others the way it did for me.
Tessa Afshar's book is full of grit and honesty that left me rejoicing in the God of new beginnings.
It traces the story of Rahab the prostitute in the Old Testament, contextualizing it with an intriguing “before” and “after” picture of this Canaanite woman who aided the Israelites and eventually became one of them.
I absolutely loved the growth in Salmone and Rahab’s relationship. The author carefully and respectfully depicts how a marriage can thrive even through trauma and hurt. This story tackles hard topics with so much grace, beauty, and hope.
Can a Canaanite harlot who made her living enticing men be a fitting wife for a leader of Israel? Shockingly, the Bible’s answer is yes.
This 10th anniversary edition of Pearl in the Sand includes new features that will invite you into the untold story of Rahab’s journey from lowly outcast to redeemed child of God. Rahab’s home is built into a wall, a wall that fortifies and protects the City of Jericho. However, other walls surround her too, walls of fear, rejection, and unworthiness… Years of pain and betrayal have wounded Rahab’s heart—she doubts whether her dreams of experiencing…
I’m an Egyptologist by training and a storyteller by nature. Fascinated by the origins of patriarchy since I was a small girl raised by strong women in a patriarchal context, I turned to Greek and Roman history for answers. I earned an MA and a richer understanding of the civilizations that influenced the classical period, which led to the study of Egypt and Mesopotamia and finally to a Ph.D. in Egyptology. At heart, I’m more creative than scholar. Telling stories that bring ancient Egypt to life and leave readers better informed of the challenges women have faced, and sometimes overcome, is my passion.
This book fueled my feminist rage and left me thinking about it for months after I put it down.
Unapologetically pro-women, Marmery challenges some of the patriarchy’s most sacred foundations. I love the courage of this book. It’s an intimate read but somehow also feels large and distant. For me, this one is a ca n’t-miss read that makes you think, wonder, and fume.
A triumphantly feminist retelling of ancient creation myths in the tradition of Madeline Miller and Claire North.
Lyrically rendered, this epic U.S. debut tells the story of the woman known as Adam's first wife and her fall from Paradise and quest for revenge.
Before Eve, there was Lilith.
Lilith and Adam are equal and happy in the Garden of Eden. Until Adam decides Lilith should submit to his will and lie beneath him. She refuses—and is banished forever from Paradise.
Demonized and sidelined, Lilith watches in fury as God creates Eve, the woman who accepts her submission. But Lilith has…
This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.
In these and other intimate conversations, the book…
This collection started when I had to take a course on Milton as part of my Literature degree program. It didn't make any sense to me blame Eve for the downfall of Man. (I hadn't yet developed much of a feminist consciousness and so didn't realize that women are always blamed... perhaps especially by men, perhaps especially for their own—i.e., men's—behaviour...) "I am Eve" (the first piece in the collection) is actually based on my term paper. After I graduated, I decided to go through the Bible to see who else needed to protest...
Written in 1899, this is still thebook to read. It contains thorough and thoughtful commentary on the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (part one) and Joshua to Revelation (part two). 369 pages in all. It includes the original text to be commented upon, so there is no need to go out and buy a Bible. And it is, in a word, mind-blowing. (And it will depress the hell out of you to see where we still are 123 years later.)
The publication of The Woman's Bible in 1895 and 1898 represented the last crusade of pioneer feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton to strike at the roots of the ideology behind her gender's subordinate role in society. In the tradition of radical individualism that guided her philosophy, Stanton's attack on religious orthodoxy is more a forceful political treatise than a scholarly work. This clarion call to action, assembled by Stanton and a committee of prominent feminists, consists of a book-by-book examination of the Bible, placing events in their historical context, interpreting passages as both allegory and fact, and comparing them with the…
